Since the last Premier League games, a few things have changed.
Most notably Robert Mugabe has been removed from power in Zimbabwe
after nearly 30 years. Tony Pulis has been removed form the
manager's job at West Bromwich Albion after nearly 30 years.
Well, nearly 3 years actually, but it must have seemed like 30 to
Baggies fans.

While Pulis got away with the
style of football when the side were winning and in the top half of
the table, the lack of positive outcomes (winning four of his last
22 Premier League games in charge) brought his tenure at the
Hawthorns to an end. Albion probably have someone in mind to
take over, but in the meantime, they have reverted to Pulis'
assistant Gary Megson, who has been removed form the manager's
office one before at WBA.

So, what do we expect from
Albion at Wembley ? Megson's sides are likely to be in your
face and with the likes of McClean, McAuley, Evans, Livermore, Yacob,
Barry and Phillips all aggressive in closing down players and space.
But they are missing James Morrison, Nacer Chadli and Craig Dawson,
all experienced Premier League players who are capable of scoring
goals, each in a different way. This puts a lot of emphasis on
Hal Robson-Kanu and Salomon Rondon to do the business at the
business end. They do get some support from midfield,
but not as much as they would like, thus resulting in the Baggies
not troubling the "Best Scorers" trophy judges.

As it is, the best part of
their team looks like the defence on paper, with a reasonably
settled unit. They have not provided much protection for Ben
Foster though and he has been prone to mistakes, making it hard for
Albion to pick up many points, with their goals for column looking
forlorn. With the back line not functioning, it left too much
strain on the front line to out-score the opposition. As Spurs
are on a decent run, despite a small blip, they will probably
approach the game at Wembley as a point to be gained and perhaps a
set-piece or two offering them the opportunity of a greater reward.

Tottenham need to return to
winning ways in the league after last weekend's set-back. We
are starting to move the ball about quicker now and the performance
in Dortmund in mid-week shows how they are able to manage a game,
but that was against a team who were willing to play. Back in
the Premier League, they will face a side who don't want to play
ball. Rondon might be playing a lone striker role, with the
midfield trying to get McClean and Phillips up in support of him as
quickly as they can.

Even if Pochettino rotates
the team a bit, here should be enough quality in the Spurs team to
provide the ability to break down West Brom, get chances carved out
for Kane and get others on the ball to test Foster from range.
His shot stopping ability isn't too bad, but he can allow the ball
to fall into areas where our players could chase in and make
something of it.

There won't be another 4-0,
like we beat them at home last season, but three points should see
Spurs back challenging at the top.

With the first frosty morning
on the day for football this season, Tottenham were caught cold by
West Bromwich Albion who scored after just three minutes and then
proceeded to frustrate us with defence in numbers and a huge helping
of time-wasting, aided and abetted by weak refereeing from Mike
Jones, meaning it took until the 72nd minute to get back n level
terms. Pushing for a winner, Spurs were almost made to pay at
the back end of the game, but both sides emerged with a point apiece
from this match at Wembley.

Getting closed down just the
Spurs goal side of the centre circle, Dele let the ball get away
form him and Livermore took the ball and quickly played Rondon
through, with Sanchez chasing. The West Brom forward held him
off and scuffed a shot that took Lloris by surprise, meaning he
couldn't move as it bobbled into the right hand corner of his net.
You would have thought that Spurs were playing in Claret and Blue at
the TaxPayer's Stadium with the amount of abuse that heaped down
form the terraces. It's never an idea way to start a match,
but there was a lot of time left. Well, there should have
been.

With the inexplicable
absences of Danny Rose and Erik Lamela, Spurs shaped up with a five
man midfield, playing Son up along Kane in attack. Rose was
not ready to play two games a week and will be ready for Leicester
on Tuesday, while Lamela attended the birth of his first child, so
hopefully might be ready to return to the first team soon. But
WBA were closing down Spurs very quickly, sometimes very high up the
pitch and with Spurs not moving the ball snappily or moving to
receive it, thus pulling the visitors out of shape, the early goal
allowed them to sit back and pack their last third. Spurs
found it hard to find a way through. It also was part of
caretaker boss Gary Megson's plan to ensure that Dele, Kane and
Eriksen were all jumped on as soon as they received the ball.
Criticism of Dele and Christian did not take into account the fact
that two or three players were on them straight away when they got
the ball and thus forced errors.

The ranks of green shirts
between the Tottenham players and the West Brom goal were enough to
prevent Foster being troubled until the half hour. All Spurs
could produce in terms of a goal threat were crosses into the box,
which the gigantic defenders had no trouble in defending.
Jones was letting lots of heavy challenges on Spurs players go,
while penalising the lightest touch on the visitors, but then
surprisingly produced a yellow card for Barry, when he went in on
Kane. And it was Harry who first worried the keeper with a
snapshot after shifting the ball past a defender to make a yard for
a shot from outside the box that went close with the keeper out of
position. The came the first save, with Son cutting in from
the left to hit a shot that Foster had to dive to his left to tip
wide. Eriksen's corner was headed out and it dropped for Ben
Davies to hit a shot that was deflected wide. Foster, as is
the norm, kicked he ball away to waste time, but the ball boy went
to retrieve it, only for the keeper to kick it out of his hands.
The referee saw it and decided to take no action once again.
Unbelievable !

When the roles were
reversed, Christian's shot from Ben's corner went way over the top
and then Son jinked past a couple of players on the left to fizz a
low ball across the face of goal that Kane and Alli couldn't get on
the end of. Dier slid a header across goal, but the
keeper claimed it and then, into added time for time-wasting, Sonny
hit another effort on goal, but it took a deflection. With
Foster furiously back-pedalling, the ball looked as though it would
beat him and it did, but nestled on top of the goal netting for
another corner.

At half-time everyone could
not understand why the referee was failing to punish the Albion
keeper, who, when he had the ball in his hands, Kane had taken no
standing in front of him holding his fingers up counting how long he
was holding the ball. Eight ... ten seconds. Foster was
making a mockery of the referee's authority, but there was no
inclination from the official to take any action against him.
Such laws of the game might as well be erased from the rule book.

The second half begun with
Tottenham looking a bit more urgent in their play. Kane hit a
shot straight at Foster, Dele and son made runs into the area, but
were outnumbered by Albion players and Jake Livermore blocked
efforts by Eriksen and Son. A Trippier cross had Ben Davies
shaping up for a volley at the far post, but Matt Phillips, who
looked like he has pile don some pounds, just touched the ball with
his head, altering the flight of the ball enough to prevent it
ending up on Ben's boot. Then Phillips was at the other end,
played in on the right side by Barry's pass and shooting across
goal, but dragging it wide.

When Foster again held onto
the ball for ten seconds, the referee showed a yellow card.
But not for the keeper. It was for Eric Dier in midfield, how
had the temerity to ask why the ref wasn't doing anything about it.
Then Gibbs was booked for a foul on Dele, before Poch brought on
Dembele and Llorente for Winks and Vertonghen to shake the side up.
It helped Spurs pile more pressure on the WBA defence, with Son
hitting a shot too high, Dele heading the ball across goal and then
Trippier hitting a corner at the far post towards goal, with Dele
inches away from getting a touch on it that would have brought an
equaliser.

The equaliser did come
shortly after, when Kane tried to move the ball onto Eriksen, but
the Dane got abuse form fans for losing it, but Harry had played a
short pass to him, with two men marking him. McClean
tried to run the ball away, but Trippier dispossessed him, played it
outside to Dele, who put a low ball into the near post, where Kane
ghosted in to nudge a shot between Foster's legs to make it 1-1.
It was another neat piece of finishing and showed determination from
Spurs, when the move broke down, to win it back and go again.

West Brom were pulling out
all the dark arts, with Nyom taking an age over a throw, which got
him booked and then he pursued the referee to complain. Barry
went down injured and when he had been treated wanted to go off the
longest way to the side of the pitch. Dele fired over when
well-placed and then Trippier, who was a problem all afternoon for
Albion, put in another cross that almost produced a winner, but Kane
headed over at the near post, with Dele going for the same ball too.
Finally the referee booked Foster for time-wasting, but he had
wasted time doing it, leaving it until the 82nd minute. The
keeper then began hurrying to take goal-kicks and clearing the ball
from his hands, which would have had a greater effect had the ref
booked him in the eighth minute, when he started doing it.
Added to the fact that his incident with the ball boy might have
brought a yellow, so he could have been sent off.

Spurs had rarely had decent
efforts at the keeper and he proved suspect near the end as Kane
struck a low shot that he fumbled and dele was nearly onto before
Foster grabbed it at the second attempt, but things could have got
worse for Spurs. Into the paltry five added minutes, a
free-kick was headed down by Rondon and Robson-Kanu struck a shot
which luckily went straight at Lloris and then Phillips was sent
away on the right, with his low ball across goal deflected goal
wards by Rondon, but from a couple of yards out, managed to guide it
wide.

It was a slow, sloppy start
by Tottenham and it was made a hard task to come back from it by
Albion, who got nine outfield players back behind the ball every
time they lost it. There was not enough movement off the ball
to pull WBA out of their defensive shape and crosses into the box
were mainly meat and drink for their defenders to clear away.
It was only in the last ten minutes of the first half that Spurs got
any tempo into their game and the second half was better, but they
still lacked guile, when Albion had earmarked Christian, Harry and
Dele for special attention. This should have left space for
others to exploit, but it didn't happen.

They did keep plugging away and
got a point, which, in light on the last couple of minutes of added
time might have seen them have none. Two seasons ago it was
the draws that killed us, so it may be that hinders us going for a
challenge at the top of the table, but Manchester City appear to
running away with it at the moment, so a place in the top four must
be the target in view of the way clubs are playing against us at
Wembley.

It would have
been intensely irritating if West Brom had nicked anything in added
time, as it was their persistent time-wasting that contributed to
most of it. However, only having to watch them twice a season
is a blessing.

Kirk Hammerton

PUB
FACT*

West Bromwich Albion were
the first team to take their name from a part of the town they were
based in that doesn't exist. There is an East Bromwich, but no
West Bromwich, which would be Swan Village.

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What you
thought

-

-.

-

-.

Other scores
during this week :

Crystal Palace

2

Stoke City

1

Saturday

Liverpool

1

Chelsea

1

Saturday

Manchester
United

1

Brighton & Hove
Albion

0

Saturday

Newcastle United

0

Watford

3

Saturday

Swansea City

0

Bournemouth

0

Saturday

West Ham United
London

1

Leicester City

1

Friday

Southampton

4

Everton

1

Sunday

Huddersfield Town

1

Manchester City

2

Sunday

Burnley

0

Arsenal

1

Sunday

League Table 2017-18

P

W

D

L

F

A

Pts

GD

1

Manchester City

13

12

1

0

42

8

37

+34

2

Manchester United

13

9

2

2

28

6

29

+22

3

Chelsea

13

8

2

3

24

11

26

+13

4

Arsenal

13

8

1

4

23

16

25

+6

5

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

13

7

3

3

21

10

24

+12

6

Liverpool

13

6

5

2

25

18

23

+7

7

Burnley

13

6

4

3

12

10

22

+2

8

Watford

13

6

3

4

22

21

21

+1

9

Brighton & Hove Albion

13

4

4

5

13

14

16

-1

10

Huddersfield Town

13

4

3

6

9

19

15

-10

11

Newcastle United

13

4

2

7

11

17

14

-6

12

Leicester City

13

3

5

5

17

18

14

-1

13

AFC Bournemouth

13

4

2

7

11

14

14

-3

14

Southampton

13

4

4

5

13

15

13

-5

15

Stoke City

13

3

4

6

16

26

13

-10

16

Everton

13

3

3

8

13

28

12

-15

17

West Bromwich Albion

13

2

5

6

10

19

11

-9

18

West Ham United London

13

2

4

7

12

26

10

-14

19

Swansea City

13

2

3

8

7

15

9

-8

20

Crystal Palace

13

2

2

9

8

25

8

-17

Position before match :
4th
Position after match : 4th
Position after the weekend : 5th

* Pub facts may not actually be true, but after a
few pints everyone might think so.